Articles tagged with: bread

‘Sports do not build characters. They reveal it.’ I would never have known this side of my son but for the sports day celebrations in their school. He along with other friends helped their teachers organize the props, dresses and other essential accessories for the shows on Sports day. Some of the students (including him) who stay near school premises took extra food, water and goodies daily to share with others during long hours of practice sessions in school. Proud moments for any parent.

And I promised him to make a dessert on their sports day which resembled the color of their dress code, Yellow.

Think of yellow and Pumpkin pops up in mind. This extremely light, delicate and scrumptious Pumpkin Pie was what I baked and shared with my son’s friends.

‘A Brinjal by any other name is still a Birnjal’…was my one liner when mom used to cajole us eating eggplant or brinjal dishes in the name of Bharta, Brinjal Chokha,Raitas, stuffed Baingan and so on. But then most of the children I know have love-hate relationship with Brinjal…and I too had mine, so no regrets.

I feel the pinch when I watch Asian chefs tossing out exotic eggplant recipes on television shows and savoring them with a Hmm..wow…I should have taken a risk to explore the versatility of this humble veggie then.

Though I keep trying various eggplant recipes at home but all I know is Brinjal Bharta (smoked eggplant with spices), brinjal fritters (coated with chickpea flour) and a few Indian curries. Anyways Brinjal is a favorite at home now and even my children love it….and yes, I don’t have to cook up new names to make them eat this purple veggie anymore 🙂

It was just another day in paradise…spent an evening on beach, had fun and listened to each drop of water tell a story of life! The pleasing sight of vendors selling colorful snacks, lovey-dovey pair lost in their world, elderly couple walking hand in hand and children from the most affluent to common families playing together on the beach…the more I see, the less I know about life.

A trip to beach is always welcoming both to the parents and the children. My kids and hubby love to play in water, make sand castles while I travel to and fro with the waves in my dreamland. Hubby keeps a watch on both children & me, interrupting frequently with “Take care of our shoes, camera, bag …don’t get lost in your own world”.

A moment that lasted an eternity.….It was a weekday when I got a call from the talented & inspiring co-author of two wonderful cook books Mrs. Pratibha Jain. She invited me to be on the panel of judges along with some of the industry bigwigs and renowned chefs for a culinary event. The event is being conducted by a group of enthusiastic youngsters from Rajasthan in India, who are working towards many social causes in the city. I received my formal e-card invitation from the organizers and was given a warm welcome by the ladies wing chairman Navaneet and other members of the group.

Baking is a real challenge if you wish to avoid two of the most important ingredients which give your cake that spongy and light texture, one is egg and the other is All purpose flour.

Though there is no specific reason for avoiding eggs in my bakes, I dislike using all purpose flour (maida) mainly due to health aspects. And this is what exactly happens with each bake of mine…will it rise…will it not. Anxiety vanishes when I see a gorgeous golden beauty popping out from my oven.

Oh yes, I too occasionally come across an adamant bread which fails to rise, that fussy cake showing the gooey inside and soft cookies which resembles more of flat breads. But then you learn with failures, the rate of which reduces drastically every time you see a perfect bake and a rewarding smile on the faces of your loved ones.

The vast open Saffron fields in Jammu is worth a visit for any traveler in India. I was amazed to see these tiny plants with no prominent shoots and leaves, but just large bright violet flowers with crimson colored stigma or saffron as the main plant body. Acres of farm land could yield just a few grams of Saffron. No doubt the hard work that goes in cultivating Saffron makes this spice rare & pricey.

In India Saffron or Kesar as is called in Hindi, is extensively used in making milk based desserts and for cooking aromatic basmati rice Biryani. Though I don’t use saffron in my bakes, these popular Indian saffron cookies – Nankhatai are my favorite.

‘I don’t need the bread, but it’s nice to do something creative‘. ~ John Goodman. My daily normal Indian meal has no place for yeast bread, I like my chapattis and rice with curries and other accompaniments. But then ‘creative & therapeutic‘ is what baking is to me and I love my breads and cakes for the same reason.

After years of baking I still feel ‘yeast challenged’ every time that I bake something and feel jittery to see the outcome. This month when Abby Dodge asked us to bake a Peasant Boule for #baketogether I instantly grabbed the challenge in order learn more from my fellow food bloggers and bake my own Peasant Boule as well.

‘With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy’ ~ Lope De Vega. And now with my garden not in good shape I no longer live without envying my friend who has a sprawling garden to boast.
Some days back when she presented me a few bundles of fresh green fenugreek and a couple of veggies from her farm this is what I cooked. Just as the Khichdirecipe in the previous post there is nothing spectacular in this recipe also, it has the least ingredients and cooks quickly.

~’Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life’ ~Anonymous. Some of them add spices to make it more entertaining while the others enhance, give body and add value to the recipe of life.

Opposites attract…Hmm..yes they do in real life too. I am not a movie person and she hates on-line world, so when we meet we talk everything under the Sun except the above mentioned topics. Celebrity in South India and winner of many national awards Saranya has been a dear friend for past eight years. A passionate dress designer, wonderful cook, cleanliness freak and a dedicated mother of two, she has been one of the most treasured friends of mine. We have seen our children grow together, shared some of our most precious moments, celebrated numerous functions and still continue to guide each other through our thick and thin.

Rain and water logging outside the house means no play and no friends coming home, only a hearty dessert can bring cheers to the dull faces of my children. A dessert in which I can engage them to bake minus the mess I might face as aftermath. Hmm..a muffin or a cookie look easy to bake but then sifting the flour, kneading, perfect consistency…nope, forget it. Bread Pudding…yes it could give them a false feeling of baking something without much fuss. Easy and literally a child’s play recipe, nothing beats a warm bread pudding on a rainy day, a perfect comfort food for any time.

And as expected they wanted chocolate in their recipe and added cocoa to their bread pudding. The chocolate custard bread pudding you see in the picture is assembled and baked by my children, I have to admit that I did polish off half of the Ramekin from their share 🙂